Travel site's Annual Global Flight Study confirms booking ahead can save 26%; Tuesday cheapest day to travel & Saturday most expensive; Cheaper by 6% to fly in evenings compared to most-expensive midday.
LONDON – According to new global travel statistics from momondo.co.uk, Britons can save money by booking flights at least 53 days in advance of their departure.
By analysing 12.6 billion airfares worldwide, the site found that by booking travel early – just under two months in advance of departure – consumers could save an average of 26% on flight costs.
Conversely, the most expensive tickets are to be found, if travellers chose to book their trip on the day of departure.
And momondo found flight price can also vary hugely, depending on the day of the week, with the cheapest departure fares typically found on Tuesdays and the most expensive on Saturdays. The average flight cost difference between these days of the week was 11.5%.
Avoid midday flights
According to momondo, time of the day is also important to consider when booking. momondo’s global flight statistics show it’s normally cheaper to fly in the evening, between the hours of 6pm and 12am.
And the travel site finds midday flights, so between the hours of 10 am and 3pm, the most expensive overall, by on average 6%.
Lasse Skole Hansen, momondo’s spokesperson states: “We would always advise travellers to stick to these golden travel rules, to secure the cheapest fares. And in general, it pays to book flights two months in advance. We found these trends consistent across the board, so bargain hunters should consider flying in the evening and on Tuesdays if possible, to save the most money on their trip.”
Other factors affect fares
Ticket prices are also influenced by other factors, such as day of departure, airline, season and airport – and factors play very differently in on each route. These are factors air travellers wishing to save money on their flights, should take into consideration.
Travellers can even explore the six factors that affect fares with momondo’s unique free money saving tool Flight Insight, which is available on more than 10,000 routes worldwide. Travellers can find the tool Flight Insight at the top of search results on momondo.co.uk when making a flight search.
“By using our tool Flight Insight, travellers can assess the best day of week, time of day and season, in which to travel. If travellers wish to get the greatest savings on travel, they should check our tool for their particular route, to find out how many days in advance to book, in order to score the cheapest ticket,” states Skole Hansen.
Travel tips for booking worldwide flights
- Book your trip 53 days in advance to get the cheapest tickets – and you can achieve average savings of 26%
- Tickets are generally most expensive on the day of departure
- Evening departures between the hours of 6pm and 12am typically offer the cheapest fares
- It is usually more expensive to fly in the morning and midday, before 3pm
- A Tuesday is generally the cheapest day to fly
- Saturday is routinely the most expensive day of the week to fly
N.B. These statistics were obtained from 12.6 billion fares on 100 of the most-searched routes on momondo.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
